July
24 - Spaniard lives up to expectations, Evans down
but not out of Tour, Menchov still hopeful, Vande Velde rides strong after
tough day, Schumacher puts in another day at the front, Cyclingnews-Felt
TdF competition!, Tour video highlights and podcasts

July
23 - Come-back for second French winner, Evans bullish
after Alpine stage, Vande Velde: 'Anything can happen', Augustyn unhurt in
spectacular plunge, Popovych fighting back from bad form, Hincapie: Down but
not out, Nibali fighting for white, Basque team on the hunt, Less than a week
left to enter the Cyclingnews-Felt Tour competition! Tour video and
podcasts

July 18
- Millar: 'Ricc˛ was too good to be true', WADA
ahead of the curve with Micera, Saunier Duval-Scott stops racing, Ricc˛ in
custody, Duenas carried 'a small pharmacy', Are anti-doping authorities 'winning
the game'?

July
17 - Domestique clinches first Tour win, Forbidden
substances found in Dueñas' room, UCI unhappy with ProTour rejection,
Sunderland explains CSC tactics, Liquigas caught by surprise with Beltran,
The day of a Silence-Lotto domestique, Four injured in team car/spectator
collision, Stage video and podcasts highlights

July
16 - Evans expects tough battle ahead, Schleck must
attack for podium finish, Freire on point for maillot vert, Cavendish
unfazed by danger, Froome making progress at the Tour

July 8
- French cycling revived with win, McEwen disappointed with day three, Valverde:
Sprinters missed their chance, Frischkorn: Tour not just another race, Menchov
loses time, as does Ricc˛, Hinault takes down French protester

July 6
- Suspected break for Soler, Jégou hoped
for stage win and baby, Stapleton pleased with stage one, Schumacher can't
convert pole position into victory, Gerrans working for green, Lövkvist
hoping for good Tour, Tour diaries: Chavanel and O'Grady's stage one

July 5
- CSC holds three cards for yellow, Quick Step has irons in the fire, Pereiro
content to work for Valverde, PMU in for four more years, Madiot for eight-man
Tour teams, Horner picks Tour favourites, Sánchez has respect for the
Tour

Tour de France news feature, July 11, 2008

Lead change shrouded in controversy

The finish of Stage 6 was somewhat controversial, with Gerolsteiner's Stefan
Schumacher crashing within sight of the line and conceding the yellow jersey
to closest rival Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia). Cyclingnews' Shane Stokes
gets reactions to a dramatic finale at Super Besse.

With the Tour de France moving into the mountains on Thursday, it was clear
that there was going to be a shakeup in the race. Gerolsteiner's Stefan Schumacher
had a narrow lead over several dangerous rivals including Team Columbia's Kim
Kirchen - who started the day just twelve seconds back. Several of those close
to the sport
tipped that the Luxembourg rider would take over at the top.

That's what ultimately happened, but the manner of his doing so was utterly
unexpected. Schumacher rode superbly on the stage, remaining in the front group
while other better-regarded climbers such as Damiano Cunego (Lampre) lost time.
With 500 metres to go it not only looked like he would hold on, but it appeared
that he would be one of those actually sprinting for the victory. But then it
all went terribly wrong.

Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) found himself on the front after team-mate
Oscar Pereiro pulled off. He moved from the left to right side of the road,
presumably to try to get one of the other riders to come by, but this created
a ripple effect which made Kirchen swing over and - unintentionally - clip Schumacher's
front wheel. The German went straight down, hitting the road hard. While he
remounted immediately and set off in pursuit, he crossed the line 32 seconds
behind stage winner Riccardo Ricc˛ (Saunier Duval-Scott) and 31 adrift of Valverde,
Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto), Frank Schleck (Team CSC) and Kirchen.

"I crashed because Kim swerved and I had no
chance."

-A dejected Stefan Schumacher speaks
about his finish crash

Confusion then reigned. On normal stages, any mishaps inside the final three
kilometres have no effect on the rider's time, unless the group splits. However
on mountain stages this doesn't normally apply, due presumably to the possibility
of riders faking problems. There was nevertheless a lot of uncertainly; Schumacher
initially declined to speak to the media circled around the team bus, being
clearly gutted about losing yellow. A team worker told those gathered there
that he wouldn't talk due to the disappointment of this loss happening due to
a crash.

However, a couple of minutes later the German was out of the bus once again,
heading back to the finish after a Tour official told him that he had held on.
His serious expression suggested that he wasn't totally convinced, and so it
proved. Kirchen was confirmed as the new race leader, with Schumacher dropping
to third overall, 16 seconds back.

"I came here with excellent form and tried to get a victory," said Kirchen.
"I have the green jersey and now the yellow. I am very happy with this. We will
try to control the race with Team Columbia and I am very confident for the next
days."

Schumacher was, as expected, somewhat less happy with the day's conclusion.
"I lost time, I crashed because Kim swerved and I had no chance," he said. "I
couldn't avoid it. I am not injured, it is not much. That is not the problem,
I am just really disappointed with what has happened."

In the post-race press conference, Kirchen was asked about Schumacher's statement.
"Actually, I am very surprised to hear that," he said. "I hadn't seen him in
the last two kilometres. I was trying to move up on the right hand side but
then everybody swerved to the right side. The guy in front of me had to brake
and I had to do the same. I couldn't do my sprint for the victory. I am very
surprised to hear he said that."

"I am very surprised to hear he said that."

-Kim Kirchen reacts to Stefan Schumacher's
comments about the finish

Schumacher's team manager Hans Michael Holczer had, like the rider, initially
believed that the yellow jersey was lost. Cyclingnews then spoke to him
moments after the rider was called back to the podium and, at that point, it
looked like Gerolsteiner would continue with the maillot jaune.

"The team worked extraordinarily well today, I have to say that," said Holczer.
"Now that he has the jersey, we will work to keep it and it is thanks to the
work of the team. I hope that we are capable of keeping the jersey until the
Pyrenees.

"I wasn't surprised by his performance," he continued. "I know that he could
do well in the mountains like this. He can ride well in the hills, he prefers
them to the big mountains."

Approximately 10 minutes later, Cyclingnews spoke to Holczer once again.
This time he was in an angry mood, having learned that the jury had decided
to give the jersey to Kirchen after all.

"I know why they made the decision," he said. "When you have a hill finish,
it is easy to pretend you have a problem, for example, and that is why the normal
situation doesn't apply. That is the rule, but today shows that the rule is
not right in every situation.

"It was hard [for Schumacher and the team], because somebody from the commissaires
came and told him he was in the jersey," he added. "On the other hand, we knew
that normally it could not be the case. I called the president of the jury and
then he said that you get the time you have on the finish line [and the jersey
was consequently lost]. It is stupid."

One can understand why in this case Gerolsteiner would feel the judgement was
a little harsh. The crash happened well inside the final kilometre and Schumacher
was looking strong at the time; it is almost impossible that Schumacher would
have lost the 12 seconds Kirchen trailed him by.

Even though the latter implied this could happen, it seems highly unlikely.
"The speed was good enough, fast enough, and it is tough to attack with a headwind,"
said Kirchen. "I knew I could make the difference in the final 500 metres, but
unfortunately it didn't happen as expectedůthere were several other attacks.
But I am happy with the yellow jersey. "

The obvious question on people's minds is how long Kirchen can keep it for.
He was on few people's list of pre-race favourites, but has shown already this
week that he is in superb form. Kirchen was asked if he now considered himself
one of the big contenders.

He is playing things cautiously, not making rash predictions at this point
of the race. "Well, as you know the Tour is the Tour and there are many days
left," he answered. "I have exceptional form and I decided to concentrate on
the opening stages and trying to get the jersey. The time trial two days ago
went extremely well, I was a bit surprised by that.

"It is necessary to take it day by day," he added. "Everything is possible
with a very strong team, we will see how things go in the Pyrenees as regards
staying with the best climbers. If I succeed there without losing too much time,
perhaps I can be there in the Alps and also in Paris."

Both Schumacher and Gerolsteiner would, clearly, have been very happy to have
retained the maillot jaune a while longer. Unlike Kirchen, he has no
aspirations of a high overall finish; the Pyrenees and Alps would almost certainly
be too tough for a rider of his build. The German team is however looking for
a replacement sponsor, and so time in the limelight is a vital currency tool
for attracting backers.

Schumacher will start Stage 7 with a deficit of 16 seconds; it's a narrow one,
but Holczer feels it's unlikely that they can reclaim the lost time. "I think
it will be very hard to get it back," he said. "If we had retained it today,
maybe we could have kept it until the Pyrenees. But I don't think it is possible
to get it back now."